Sunday, November 16, 2008

I waited until the last minute to plan out my Sunday school lesson for today because that's the way I work. Today's lesson was about praising God even when you're scared and you think things are going badly. Peggy Larson does this continuously and it always amazes me. If one of my kids had been battling cancer for years, I'd like to say I'd still be praising God, but I have a feeling I'd be cursing instead.

So I read this passage from 2 Chronicles to my class: then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly....

This passage goes on to list such names as King Jehoshaphat, Pass of Ziz, Desert of Jeruel, Kohathites, Korahites, and Desert of Tekoa.

This is the kind of passage everyone dreads having to read in church because let's face it, no one can pronounce those names! I feel like a fool everytime I have to read something like this aloud in front of others. I've discovered the trick to reading passages like these with confidence, however. I figure no one else has a clue how these names should be pronounced either so as long as you say them with confidence, no one will be the wiser. Just make up a name and say it like you know it's correct. Even your pastor will think, "Hmmm, perhaps I've been misprouncing it all these years..." OK, maybe it won't work that well with your pastor, but it worked on my 2nd and 3rd graders today!

Now for this week's questions...

You know... you should really go see a chiropractor about your neck ;)Ugh, yeah, I'll get right on that, Michelle. Actually, my theory of procrastination has paid off once more - my neck no longer hurts now.

Yay, another mommy who doesn't do epidurals. But I have to ask... did you get the same look I always do when you tell people? You know... the "Are you effing CRAZY?" look?Well, I got the "are you crazy?" look, but I attributed it to the fact that I was pregnant with my sixth baby and notsomuch that I was declining a shot in the back.

Alright, I'm 38 and wore a tiara in Cheeseckae Factory...are you trying to tell me something? :) [about Brooklyn wearing her princess dress everywhere]Ummm no. Nope, not at all. It's perfectly normal and expected for a 38 year old to wear a tiara at the Cheesecake Factory. Yep, that's it.

How are you so functional off so little sleep?It's like when you have a newborn and you have to get up every couple hours all night long. You just survive because you have to. Of course, you end up doing stuff like putting your car keys in the refrigerator and forgetting to put shoes on when you leave the house, but we won't talk about that here.

okay, I know this is off subject but, I was wondering if you had a couple Disney world tips for me;we are going in march from the 9th to the 17th (six days in parks). just wanted to know how you survived it! I have 3 daughters.I recommend scheduling some downtime into your days. I personally wouldn't go park hopping every day from open to close. We pushed the kids a bit too much when we were there. Most kids like the hotel pool more than anything else on vacation. I suggest spending an afternoon or morning at the pool a couple times during the week and just let the kids splash around and chill out.

Also, for your daughters, there's a place in Downtown Disney called the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. You can get your little girls' hair and nails done there. I think you need to make appointments ahead of time and it could get kinda pricy with 3 girls.

Take advantage of Fast Passes. If there are any rides/attractions you really don't want to miss, grab a Fast Pass when you first get to the park to ensure you'll have time to see it. If you go to Hollywood Studios, grab a Fast Pass right away for the new Toy Story ride or you'll have a really long wait. Skip the Prince Caspian attraction there because it's really lame. You just stand there and watch a trailer for the movie.

In the Magic Kingdom, skip the Stitch attraction. It's stupid and kinda scary for little kids. But it's scary in a stupid way. Really, trust me on this one.

Although we're a "fly by the seat of our pants" family, I wish we'd booked one of two meals ahead of time. Maybe a character breakfast for the little kids and a nice sit-down dinner at one of the countries in Epcot.

Dawn - was the guy at the fabric store named Victor?I was too busy Twittering about his fashion headband and eyeliner to ask him his name!

So begging for something in a child-like fashion works with you?Only when it comes from Caden and ColemanI'll have to keep that in mind when you're reviewing some kind of man stuff. Do you ever review man stuff?I'll let you know that next time I review power tools, Rick.

Have you ever considered setting up a chat room on your website so readers of your blog could chat with each other and possibly with you?Ummm, not really. Interesting idea....

I had a dream I met your family. What do you think about this? Think I'm going insane by reading your blog so much?Probably. But it's ok; you're in good company. ;)

What would you think if you knew that an 18 year old high school senior with schizoaffective disorder and no children regularly reads your blog?It amazes me when any young person reads my blog. I'm afraid I'll scare them from ever wanting families of their own.

What would you do if one of your children had schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar or was battling major depression? I would develop a cure for all those disorders. Ta Da! Hey, it's a hypothetical question! I can answer hypothetically.

Is this the first kid surgery in your family?Unfortunately no.

How long will the cast stay on her arm? 4 weeks? Until her arm is all stinky, wrinkly, and gross.

And curiousity is killing me...where does Brooklyn sleep? with me

"Because there is no handicap accessible entrance! "i've been in a wheelchair for over 20 years and you'd be amazed at how many doctors' offices and hospital areas have no accessibility available. i couldn't count the number of places i couldn't get into and the staff didn't think it was necessary to accomodate wheelchairs.2 different doctors' offices told me their bathrooms aren't accessible because people in wheelchairs only use the bathrooms at home!Seriously? That's just SO wrong!

hope it all goes well... have any of your kiddos had the waterproof casts?Jackson did this summer. It was nice. I don't think it was an option with Lexi. The waterproof lining leaves a little more space between the cast and skin and is only good for some breaks. Other broken bones need a more snug-fitting cast to hold them in place while they heal.

With so many kids getting in so many scrapes, and visiting hospital/doctors/ER so many times, how DO you manage with the medical bills? Ha! I won't tell you how much we owe right now.

And, just an observation here Dawn...but it appears that the middle children are getting the brunt of the scrapes. Are they getting enough attention? Shouldn't the oldest ones be tormenting them so they get enough attention in some form or another?Is that what I'm doing wrong? I'll have to talk to those slacker older kids of mine.

I say you send the bill to Harrison Ford. LOL! Here's the funny thing - the little kids have never even seen an Indiana Jones movie!

2 nights ago, I had a dream that I was pregnant with twins and that you delivered them in the hospital and it only took 10 minutes.That's because I'm efficient and don't double-book patients. ;)

Your boy has a pink cast and your girl a blue one? =D Does she at least get to have kids sign the cast? I was surprised when she picked blue over pink. And no way would Jackson have picked a pink cast. He had orange. And yes, she's been carrying a marker around with her everywhere just in case someone wants to sign it.

I know you must have answered this a million times but I can never remember... how old are all your kids?I can't remember their ages either. Let's see...Austin 14Savannah 12Jackson 10Lexington 7Clayton 4Brooklyn 2

And on that note, I bid you goodnight.Oh and it's not too late to enter the Groovy Girls RSVP dolls giveaway HERE.And please check out Michelle and Mimi's great fundraising idea for the Larsons HERE.

25 comments:

Hmmm. Ok, this is going to come out wrong but what did you think of the Bippity Boppity Boutique? I was somewhat creeped out by the little girls all ritzed up like that, but maybe it's the nightmares I used to have about JonBenet?

Oh... and to get through the names in the Bible, the other option is to study Hebrew ;) If you can pick that up, you'll be fine... or so I've been told!

Sunday school...well my two boys (middle boys) went to Sunday school for the first time. (We are Catholic...and our church does not have Sunday school) There is a children's mass..but its not the same. Anyhow..both did fantastic and enjoyed it. I was so impressed with the acceptance and kindness of this church. We had stopped attending ours on a regular basis because once too many times the usher had scolded my son(who has developemental delays )He even called him a "bad boy"..i was crying when we were sent in the "cry proof room"..My girlfriend suggested we try her church..a United one..but dh being the ever so faithful Catholic i didn't want to upset him. However..something just made me go this Sunday...and it was a good choice..not only did my children fit in and were treated kindly, i actually got something out of the sermon.Lisa

I used to "proclaim the word", aka do the readings, at our church, and I also had the same theory -- if I just say all those "crazy" names fast enough and with confidence, who is going to question that I'm mispronouncing them? Then I found a bible pronounciation website ... one little click away from hearing the word pronounced for you, as well as seeing the phonetic pronounciation. Of course I had to click and re-click and repeat before I could catch on, but it helped.

"It amazes me when any young person reads my blog. I'm afraid I'll scare them from ever wanting families of their own."

I'm 18 and also read your blog. I've been reading it since your ebay post...every..single...day. Fortunately, you haven't scared me from wanting a family of my own seeing as I'm 18 weeks pregnant :) I don't think I'll want 6 kids, however. But nonetheless, I love your blog and check it 3-4 times a day to see if you've updated :D

love ur blog and u got me started on the whole twitter thing (cause i am a facebook status junkie) but i have a confession to make i thought u started the whole twitter idea! then i started using it and realized (atleast i think) that u are just inlove with it not the maker of it i am such a dork!

We did a character breakfast 8 years ago and then again 3 years ago and both times everyone had a great time even the grownups. We did Princess ones and I still remember my grown sister telling Belle that she was her favorite and giving her the biggest hug. I can't wait to do it with my kids someday.

We did Disney with 9 people including one infant. It was a challenge but you gave great advice. The Fast Passes are wonderful. Also they are so accomodating. With the baby, they had a family waiting area so that some of us would ride and the others would watch the baby until they were done. Noone missed rides and we all got to wait in line together.

Loved your comment about finding car keys in the freezer. I just had a baby last week (our third) and this morning I found the phone in the walk-in pantry. Last night I found the can opener in the junk drawer, but that's just because my DH doesn't know where anything in the kitchen is supposed to go. :)

"It amazes me when any young person reads my blog. I'm afraid I'll scare them from ever wanting families of their own."

Well, I'm 15 AND male and I read your blog. I'm not sure why exactly, but I love your style of writing and humour.Like most people, I assume, I stumbled across your blog whilst searching for a way to sell old pokemon cards.

My doctors office is usually on time. They are always very busy, but if one of my kids is sick enough that I think they need to be seen today, they will work them in before their lunch break is over. Yes, that may make another patient wait for a few minutes. I have never been there for more that an hour (arrival to departure times), when they made a spot for us, or 40 minutes if we had a regular appointment.

Your fear of mispronouncing the biblical names reminded me of how I felt when I was teaching at my church this past spring.

We have this song that we sing to the kids to help them remember the names of the different books in the bible...and I always stumbled over a few.

Now I work in the nursery, so I am safe from that fear of embarrassment, since the babies couldn't care less how I pronounce anything, just as long as I remember to give them their bottle and to change them!

I enjoy my daily read of your blog. You lift my mood. I have a nephew who a few years ago, when he was 4, stopped his Dad when his Dad told him that Jeremiah was a prophet. He said, "Daddy, Jeremiah was not a prophet! Jeremiah was a bullfrog"! I laugh every time I think about that.

Brooklyn sleeps with you? How does your husband deal with this? I have a 13 month old that I want to take into bed with me b/c she is waking up screaming every 2 hours from teething, but don't want to start a habit. Is it just easier, or is it because she's your last child and you want to savor it, or are you just sparing the other kids from having to share a room with her? LOL I'm curious, not judging. Thanks!

I am 20, and I read your blog. I am the youngest of 6 kids, and I find your stories so funny, because I can relate to your lifestyle! (from the other side of things) I remember searching for my mom's keys for 15 minutes once only to discover that they were IN HER HAND! =) I'm not sure I'll be having 6 of my own, but I definitely want kids!